Tuesday June 5, 2012

Taken together, revenue for the consumer and enterprise wireless local area
network (WLAN) market segments grew 13.9% year-over-year and
declined 2.9% sequentially in a seasonally slow 1Q this year,
according to preliminary results announced by International Data
Corp. (IDC). Enterprise WLAN revenue continued its "torrid" growth
in 1Q, surging 27.2%.

"The momentum behind bring your own device (BYOD) in the
enterprise continues unabated, and is the single largest factor
driving enterprise mobility and WLAN market growth," said Rohit
Mehra, director, Enterprise Communications Infrastructure, at
IDC.

"Along with the increasing use of Wi-Fi by service providers to
offload cellular data traffic, current market drivers in key
verticals will ensure the market for enterprise-class WLAN devices
and solutions will see continued traction, and that the market is
expected to stay vibrant for the foreseeable future."

WLAN sales were strong in the Asia/Pacific and Europe, Middle
East and Africa (EMEA) regions as well. EMEA WLAN revenue was up
19.7% year-over-year while Asia/Pacific's was up 16.4%.

Looking at key WLAN vendor performance, IDC found the
following:

Cisco's 1Q12 worldwide enterprise WLAN revenue globally 27.0%
year over year, reaching $414 million in the quarter. The North
American market accounted for 49.4% of Cisco's worldwide WLAN
revenue in 1Q12. Cisco's worldwide market share now stands at
52.4%, up from 51.0% in 4Q11 and on par with 1Q11.

Aruba (excluding its OEM business) increased a healthy 42.8%
year over year in 1Q12, and now holds 11.6% of the enterprise WLAN
market.

HP's 1Q12 enterprise WLAN revenue grew 10.0% year over year,
below the overall market, and its market share declined from the
6.6% recorded in both 1Q11 and 4Q11 to 5.7% this quarter.

Ruckus outperformed in 1Q12 with a market leading 183% growth
over last year's first quarter, driven by service provider and
enterprise sales.

Enterprise WiFi represents yet another promising business
opportunity for broadband carriers. Business customers continue to
add WiFi capabilities and the ongoing proliferation of smartphones
and tablets as business tools will only strengthen the trend.
Service providers would do well to understand these trends. CHR
Solutions is ready to work closely with our clients to help
identify potential business opportunities.